The life-long promise
by Maniac-Reader18
Summary: 'A promise made by the knight to her princess.' Practice got cancelled suddenly and Mio found herself alone in the clubroom. With the rain pouring down, she was compelled to wait until the rain let up. Missed calls and mails from her knight were left unnoticed as the storm stirred outside. Rainbows and a warm smile. Nothing can ever replace their walk home together.


Author's Note: Just writing for fun. Enjoy yourself. I planned this to be one shot but maybe I can write more.

Thank you for reading~

* * *

It was an unfruitful day; in fact, nothing seemed to go by her plan. The day started badly as she overslept and she was extremely late for school. She got detention and when she thought that at least she will be okay in the clubroom, she found out that practice got cancelled suddenly and now, she was alone in the eerily quiet room.

_Can this day get any worse?_

Indeed, it got worse. The rain started to pour down heavily and as usual, she didn't bring along her umbrella. After having an outburst, she calmed herself down and decided to just stay in the clubroom until the rain let up.

Thunderstorm boomed outside and lightning strikes slashed through the sky. The heavy pounding of the rain against the roof sounded menacing to her as her lanky stature shivered. She was only wearing her thin school uniform which consists of a sailor dress and a mini skirt that stopped just above her knees. Her long black socks helped to cover most of her exposed legs but she was still feeling cold.

Out of the blue, she heard soft footsteps echoing in the empty hallway outside and the footsteps got louder with each step: it was going towards her. She began to curse herself for staying in the clubroom instead of the front door because if anything happened, the security will be there but then, it was already too late now. She tried to hide but there really was nowhere to hide so she just hoped that the footsteps will pass by the room without noticing her inside.

Her small hope was diminished when the door to the clubroom tweaked open and in trepidation, she shut her eyes tightly. She kept as quiet as she could and stayed in the shadows but her lips trembled as she gave a sob.

"Mio? Are you here?" A brunette with ember eyes called out into the room.

"R-R-Ritsuu? Is that you?" She responded as she recognized the voice of her childhood friend.

Ritsu entered the room without making unnecessary noise to avoid scaring her already frightened best friend. She almost strained her eyes so she can see clearly as the room was enveloped in complete darkness but nevertheless, she found Mio chilled to the bone, sitting by the corner hugging her knees to her chest while burying her head into her knees.

Almost immediately Ritsu neared her after taking off her jacket and helped Mio into it. She also gave her muffler and wound it around Mio's neck. After all that was done, she joined Mio sitting on the floor as close as possible to share warmth. Mio whispered a word of gratitude as she rested her head on Ritsu's shoulder.

"Ne, Mio. Why'd you stay even though practice was cancelled?" Ritsu asked.

"It's raining and I didn't bring my umbrella," Mio answered simply.

There was a moment of silence as the thunderstorm stopped and the only sound that can be heard was the soft patting of the raindrops against the roof. It was not an uncomfortable silence and they both enjoyed each other's presence. They didn't need words to express their feeling, they just feel it.

"How did you know I'm here?"

"Sixth sense?" Ritsu responded as she scratched her cheeks; a bad habit of hers.

"You do know you're a bad liar, right?"

"A knight will always know the whereabouts of her princess!" She said smugly.

At the mention of this, Mio blushed beet red as she remembered back when they were young. The promise Ritsu made back then never failed to make her face flushed and the way Ritsu always keep her promise by protecting her and staying by her side really touched her.

"Oi,oi! Don't cry on me will you? Look, the rain is letting up so let's walk home, okay?"

"N-No, I'm not crying. Baka Ritsu!" Mio stuttered as she hit her knight on the head.

"Woah, there it is, the Dangerous Queen."

Mio ought to hit her once again but refrained from doing so.

_I guess I can let her go this time just because she came back for me._

The sun was setting and the sky was painted crimson and violet that it looked as if the sky was a canvas of abstract painting. There was also an airplane passing by, leaving a trail of white puffs across the sky.

"Look, rainbow! So beautiful," Mio pointed out as she looked up and grinned like a little kid excited for Christmas presents.

Ritsu observed the way Mio tucked her hair behind her ears with her slim long fingers and how she smiled when she's happy. She even realized minor details of Mio when she tended to her juniors and Ritsu always seemed to know if Mio was feeling lonely and down. Ritsu enjoyed learning new things about her childhood friend and she would do almost everything to make sure Mio was never left out;hence, the teasing. Although she would sometimes cross the line, she will earnestly apologize.

As they walked home, they held a conversation about random things- from discussions of studying together to hanging out with the others to a farewell. Since Ritsu was worried about Mio walking alone in the dark, she accompanied her to her doorstep before detouring back to her house. Mio had offered to let her in for a cup of tea and asked her father to drive her home but Ritsu politely refused, stating that she wanted to feel the night breeze. With much reluctance, Mio agreed to let her walk home.

"Ritsu, remember to mail me when you safely arrive home, okay?" Mio reminded as she felt worried.

"Hai,hai. Just wait for it. Oyasumi, Mio."

Mio didn't stop looking at Ritsu's disappearing form until she was gone from sight.

_The night's getting cold. Is she going to be okay? Wait, I didn't feel so cold._

Then, Mio just realized that she was still wearing Ritsu's jacket along with her self-knitted muffler. She smiled as she snuggled into the jacket, appreciating the warmth. After a few more minutes outside, she was called into the house for dinner.

To say the least, Mio was feeling restless the entire time. It had been an hour but her phone hadn't ring. Besides, Ritsu should already be home since their houses were not that far apart. Shaking her head, she convinced herself that maybe Ritsu was eating the dinner and forgot to mail her or she was busy showering; which Mio was about to do.

After half an hour, she was done bathing and dressing up in her pajamas and now, she was lying down on her bed. She looked at her phone and face palmed. Her phone was turned off after she was nearly discovered peeking into it during lessons. Without wasting any time, she turned it on. As soon as it was on, she was surprised to see so many missed calls and emails and when she checked who they were from, tears formed in the corner of her eyes. All of them were from Ritsu.

* * *

#1 Re: Mio?

Mio, practice is cancelled for today.

# 2Re: Barnacles~

I scraped my knees on my way home and barnacles grow from the wound!

#3 Re: Reply me!

Hey, it's getting late, where are you?

#4 Re:Mio…

I called your home but your mom said you're not home yet. At least tell me where you are.

#5 It's not funny!

Mio, if this is a prank, stop it. I'm worried now. All the other members said they hadn't seen you after school ends. Please contact me.

#6 Re: Wait for me

I'm going back to school since you're probably still there freezing to death. It's raining just so you know.

#7 Re: Safe!

I'm home already, my RoMio. Don't worry, kay?

* * *

Mio teared up as she finished reading the emails. She knew Ritsu cared for her even with all the teasing but she never knew it was to this extent. Mio felt blessed that she have a bestfriend like Ritsu and after all, she was the reason the present Mio is here. She thought deeply about her reply and sent it with her heart going Doki Doki.

* * *

#1Re: Good to know

Thank you for everything you've done for me- the jacket, the muffler- for being there for me and for being just yourself. I'm glad to know that my knight will never betray my trust and that she will always watch over me.

From your princess, RoMio


End file.
